Today’s Episode
In China, famous restaurant chain XiBei has sparked heated debate. Many say their dishes are “pre-made food” instead of freshly cooked. Why are people upset? Is pre-made food always bad, or just bad when it’s pricey? Let’s dive into this hot topic!
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After “pre-made food” heated debates, Chinese netizens now joke about “pre-made people”, those with no fresh ideas, no warmth, always repeating empty lines. Find out why this funny phrase is trending and what it says about modern life in this MaoMi Chinese+ episode!
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大家好，欢迎回来 MaoMi Chinese!
今天的这一集要谢谢Maayot Chinese的支持！ 这个学习中文的网站和app很有用！可以读，可以听，也可以背单词。如果你在准备HSK的考试，用这个来练习阅读和背单词，可以让你记住更多！去试试看吧！
今天我们要聊一个最近在中国很火的话题：西贝餐厅和预制菜。
西贝是中国一家很有名的餐厅。他们的食物是中国西北菜，有牛肉羊肉，有大饼，也有很多面条。西贝一般开在商场里，很多中国人很喜欢吃西贝，很多爸爸妈妈喜欢带着孩子去西贝吃饭。
可是最近，很多人都在骂西贝。为什么呢？因为有人说，西贝的很多菜不是新鲜做的，而是“预制菜”。“预制菜”是什么意思？就是餐厅不是马上做菜，而是先在工厂里做好，然后冷冻，送到餐厅。客人点菜的时候，只要加热，就可以上桌。这样做很快，味道也差不多。
听起来很方便，对吗？但是，很多顾客不高兴。为什么？因为他们觉得，去餐厅，就是要吃新鲜的菜，要有厨师做菜。有人说，预制菜没有“烟火气”。“烟火气”就是家的感觉，很生活，很温暖，很热闹。比如我们说：这个小吃店很有烟火气，让我觉得很舒服。
不过，也有网友觉得，预制菜也不是坏事。他们说，现在很多快餐，很多外卖，本来就是预制菜。如果干净，如果安全，那就没问题。
那为什么大家生气呢？有的网友说：“我可以接受预制菜，但是我不能接受预制菜卖很贵的价钱。”他们觉得花很多钱，却只吃到预制菜，就是“不值”。“不值”的意思是 not worth it。比如：花一百块吃一份预制菜，我觉得不值。
西贝也做了回应。“回应”就是respond。西贝回应说，不是所有的菜都是预制菜，而且用预制菜，可以让全国西贝餐厅的味道一样。你去北京的西贝，或者去上海的西贝，味道都差不多。但是，这个回应没有让所有人满意。现在，在中国社交媒体上，大家还在讨论。有的人支持，有的人反对。
我们先来说说今天学的词吧：
- 预制菜，就是早就做好了，冷冻了，又加热的菜。西贝的很多菜都是预制菜。
- 烟火气，就是家的感觉，有生活的感觉，热闹的感觉，温暖的感觉。很多人说，预制菜没有烟火气。
- 不值，意思是 not worth it。一些人说，预制菜卖很贵，一点都不值。
- 回应，意思是respond，比如：有人说西贝卖预制菜，西北回应说，他们的预制菜是很干净的，健康的。
那你觉得呢？你喜欢新鲜的菜，还是觉得预制菜也可以？你觉得，预制菜卖很贵，公不公平呢？下次去餐厅的时候，你也可以想一想，你吃的菜，是不是预制菜呢？
Hello everyone, and welcome back to MaoMi Chinese.
This episode is kindly supported by Maayot Chinese! Their website and app for learning Chinese are really useful. You can read, listen, and learn vocabulary. If you’re preparing for the HSK exam, using it to practise reading and vocabulary can really help you remember more.
Today we’re going to talk about a topic that has been very popular in China recently: XiBei restaurants and pre-made food.
XiBei is a very famous restaurant in China. Their food is northwestern cuisine – beef and lamb, big flatbreads, and many different kinds of noodles. XiBei usually opens inside shopping centres. Lots of Chinese people enjoy eating there, and many parents like to take their children to XiBei for a meal.
But recently, many people have been criticising XiBei. Why? Because some say that many of their dishes are not freshly made, but are instead “pre-made food”. What does “pre-made food” mean? It means the food isn’t cooked straight away in the restaurant, but is prepared in a factory in advance, then frozen and delivered. When customers order, the dish just needs to be heated before serving. It’s quick, and the taste is more or less the same.
Sounds convenient, right? But many customers are unhappy. Why? Because they feel that going to a restaurant should mean eating freshly cooked food, with chefs cooking on the spot. Some people say pre-made food has no “yan huo qi”. This phrase means the warm, lively atmosphere of home and daily life. For example, we might say: “This little eatery has lots of yan huo qi, it makes me feel comfortable.”
However, some people online feel that pre-made food isn’t such a bad thing. They point out that a lot of fast food and takeaway meals are already pre-made. If it’s clean and safe, then it’s not really a problem.
So why are people angry? Some say: “I can accept pre-made food, but I can’t accept pre-made food being sold at such high prices.” They feel that paying a lot of money only to be served pre-made dishes is simply “not worth it”. For example: “Spending 100 yuan on a pre-made meal – it’s not worth it.”
XiBei has also given a response. They said not all their dishes are pre-made, and using pre-made food helps them ensure consistency across the country. Whether you go to XiBei in Beijing or in Shanghai, the taste will be very similar. But this response hasn’t convinced everyone. On Chinese social media, people are still debating – some support it, others are against it.
Let’s quickly review the new words from today:
- 预制菜 (yù zhì cài) – pre-made food, prepared in advance, frozen, then reheated.
- 烟火气 (yān huǒ qì) – the feeling of home, daily life, warmth and liveliness. Many people say pre-made food doesn’t have this.
- 不值 (bù zhí) – not worth it. Some people say expensive pre-made food really isn’t worth the money.
- 回应 (huí yìng) – to respond. For example: people said XiBei sold pre-made dishes, and XiBei responded by saying their pre-made food is clean and healthy.
So, what do you think? Do you prefer fresh dishes, or do you think pre-made food is fine too? Do you think it’s fair for pre-made food to be sold at a high price? Next time you go to a restaurant, maybe you can think about whether your dish is freshly made, or pre-made.